EXPERT SYSTEM FOR IRRIGATION MANAGEMENT (ESIM)

In an irrigation management problem, expert decisions are made at various levels for assessment of water availability and requirements, proposing the type of water scheduling, and deriving an actual operational policy for various crop scenarios. In this study, an expert system 'ESIM' (Expert System For Irrigation Management) was developed for making decisions on water management in an irrigation project. A general strategy for development and application of expert systems was proposed. Since a development tool was used, the study focuses on knowledge engineering which involves knowledge acquisition, system design, implementation and evaluation. Effective use of graphical displays made interpreting and analyzing results easier. Based on the statistical analysis of flowrate in stream, a new type of index called 'Probabilistic Scheduling Index' was proposed in this work. The expert decision on a particular type of scheduling (Fixed/Arranged/Demand) was based on this index together with other site specific conditions. The expert system ESIM was applied to an irrigation management problem of the Mae-Taeng Irrigation Project located in northern Thailand. Output of the expert system was found to be reasonable and demonstrated results could be used to assist in improving water management decisions.